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Street Build 1998 GS-T Long-Term Restoration Mild Build

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orangedsm

20+ Year Contributor
244
10
Oct 30, 2002
Seattle, Washington
I picked up this 1998 Eclipse GS-T from a friend, it runs pretty well overall and looks good from 15ft away.

This is my 4th turbo DSM (first was back in 2001 I think), and it will be my last, it's going to be a slow "forever project" that I work on with my kids and keep forever. Once it's up and running, it will maybe get driven 2000-3000 miles per year, probably not even that though, just a fun and affordable garage queen that gets driven on some weekends and special occasions.

Currently working on: Body prep for a DIY body repair and respray.

Overall the goal is a mild build, medium-budget, mostly focused on restoring it back to its former glory, modernizing it a little, while improving the driving experience without going nuts on power. Aiming for maybe 280-300whp, small 16g or something similar, front LSD, coilovers, seats, etc, etc.

I'm going to separate this into a few different posts and just update those as things get done.

Post 1: Exterior
Post 2: Interior/Electronics
Post 3: Suspension/Handling
Post 4: Engine/Tuning
Post 5: Misc



The car as it was the day I bought it (looks great in pictures other than the mismatched bumper!)
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EXTERIOR

I'm going to be using this car as an opportunity to learn to do my own body work and paint, just as a hobbyist of course, I'm sure my first try won't be perfect, but I've got plenty of time to work on it and learn. I like Saronno Red, so I'll be keeping it this color, no fancy colors or metal flake, just a nice pure red.

Here's what's coming up as far as exterior goes, likely in this order:

1) Body work - the clear coat is flaking everywhere, paint chips all over the car, minor dings, and unpainted front bumper.
a) Disassemble everything (remove all lights, trim, side skirts, spoiler, windows, etc) - Started
b) Sand everything
c) Roll rear fenders
d) Final clean and tape
e) Primer, basecoat, clearcoat.
f) Color sand, buff, polish.

2) OEM style new headlights, possible projector retrofit as well
3) Upgrade fog lights (both are cracked right now anyways)
4) Front lip
5) Something in the rear, maybe just that faux diffuser black sticker that I've seen some people use. Gotta research what's available.
6) Always looking for more tasteful exterior mods.

My painting equipment is low-level hobbyist stuff. I live in a subdivision and I don't want to bother my neighbors with a loud compressor, so I got a California Air Tools 2hp 10gal compressor. 10gal is too small to paint the whole car at once, so I'll be removing most body components to paint them off the car.
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I've ordered the guns and paint from TCP Global, a gallon of Saronno Red paint, gallon of clear, etc. The price is right at about $300 for all the supplies. A set of three entry level guns that will match my low(ish) CFM output of my compressor (7ish CFM @ 30psi). Should be fine for learning, a gun for primer, base/clear, and a small gun for detail work (door jambs) all for $75 with accessories.

Pictures of some of the bad spots:
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The rest of the car is covered in chips and deep scratches, so it's going to be some work. Looking at a FRP OEM style hood this week from a local guy, if it doesn't need too much work I'll buy it for the weight reduction.

As the car sits now, got a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm excited for it:
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9/14/17:

As things normally go with me, I've taken it above and beyond anything I originally intended. I see things that I like, find good deals occasionally, and go for it. These are the (infamous?) "Allen" fender flares mocked up on my car, along with 18x9.5 +15 Volk RE30. Neither were planned originally, but that's how things go I guess, I'm excited for my build even more now! Although I will be cutting the car up, it will be done right.

As it sits now, well, almost, I'm still playing with positioning the fender flares, I shifted the front one back and lower a little so it fits the wheels better:
IMG_20170913_171425.jpg

IMG_20170913_202006.jpg
 
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INTERIOR/ELECTRONICS

Corbeau RRX seats installed today (7/18/17). The seats are great, I gained about 1.5" of head room and a little leg room, which are both very welcome. The brackets, well, not so much. The way the seat is designed you have to install the seats onto the brackets and sliders, not unusual, but very difficult with this design. The outside rear bracket points inwards, under the seat, stupidly difficult to get the bolt in. On the driver's bracket it doesn't really matter, because it's a 1/4" off of the bolt hole anyways, no way to get it to line up. Will contact Corbeau for a replacement, for now I've got 3 of the 4 bolts in, but the car isn't being driven yet anyways. Also had to lightly persuade the front inside stud to move towards the back of the car a tiny bit to get it in the hole. Passenger side isn't installed yet, after the fiasco with the driver's side I was tired of messing with it, made sure all the holes lined up (they do!) and just set the seat in there, will get back to it later this week.
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Steering wheel installed 7/17/17! Sparco R353. Will figure out a way to mount the cruise control switch and will wire a horn button somewhere. I love the size (330mm) and the flat bottom, gives much more room for my legs since I'm 6'3".
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9/14/17:

Ended up finding a good deal on a full black/gray interior set so I did the conversion. Not everything is installed in this picture, but it's all in there now. Also installed a Pioneer NEX 4200/4201 head unit and backup camera, 5-channel amp, Image Dynamics 6.5" mids in the door, tweeter in the dash, and another set of matching Image Dynamics components in the rear, also an Image Dynamics IDQv3 10" sub that will eventually end up in a custom fiberglass enclosure in the side of the hatch area.

IMG_20170826_223648.jpg


Plans:

- Either a steering shroud dual gauge pod or a dash mount triple gauge pod if I can find someone who makes one.

- Get air conditioning working again, all the parts are there, but it doesn't seem to come on, no change in engine tone or RPM when I press the AC button.

- Relocate battery to rear

- Custom enclosure for the 10" subwoofer
 
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SUSPENSION/HANDLING

On order:

CompWorks Fender Braces

Wheels: Volk RE30 18x9.5 +15
Tires: Advan AD08R 285/30/18

Wheels: Enkei RPF1 17x9 +45 (SOLD!)
Tires: Kumho Ecsta V720 255/40/17 (SOLD)

Suspension: Feal 441 Coilovers (off-the-shelf spring rate)

Will post better pictures once I get the coilovers in and installed. Maybe this weekend.

This is the car as it sits now, 9-10mm worth of spacing on the front, so effectively a +34 or +35, sticks out too far. Rear is +45, no spacer, exactly where I want it to be. Don't mind the ride height, the suspension on it currently is entirely too low and the car isn't being driven yet anyways.
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Installed coilovers 7/22/17:
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The more I'm digging into this car the more I'm becoming disgusted with it. It was in New Mexico for a while, so I think it was driven in sand quite a bit, every single part of this car is terribly dusty/dirty, it's testing my cleanliness "OCD" to the limit. All of the bushings are shot everywhere so I'm just going to start going through and replacing EVERYTHING. Wheel bearings, arms, linkage, everything is going to be new or like-new by the time I'm ready to put it on the road again.

No ride height shots yet, ran out of time today, here's a shot of the front though, I like this height.
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9/14/17

Found a great deal on my favorite wheels the Volk RE30 in 18x9.5 +15, and just by chance, Tire Rack had my favorite tires on clearance. The 285/30/18 is slightly wider and slightly shorter than I wanted, but they were on closeout for $208 each, I couldn't pass up the deal. Next tires will be a 275/35 for slightly better fitment on the wheels. But these have a very stiff sidewall, so the slight bulge shouldn't hurt handling too much.

Wheels without flares installed (see body section for with flares installed):
IMG_20170911_115333.jpg

IMG_20170911_153840.jpg


Plans:


- Brakes: Brembo rear, mild street pads, stainless lines.

- Wavetrac (or similar) front LSD (this is vital to me, a good LSD makes a FWD car amazing)

- Bracing - Various chassis bracing. Front and rear strut tower bars, etc, pretty much whatever I can get that will actually make a difference.

- Front and/or rear sway bars, tuned for neutral handling leaning towards understeer at the limit.

- Replace, refresh, or repaint all suspension components.
 
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ENGINE/TRANSMISSION


Engine:

Current: Motor is a 7-bolt from a 1999 GSX (VIN verified), 14b turbo, hackjob 2.5" exhaust, Evo VIII fuel pump (had a Walbro 255 that I didn't need, couldn't handle the loud whining), hard intake pipe, stock everything else.

Plans:
- Replace valve stem seals (I think that's the cause of my smoking issue)
- Replace exhaust (something 3", not sure what yet, looking for great sound and hoping to drop a few lbs)
- Small 16G turbo (maybe Evo III 16G, we'll see)
- ECMLink Tuning
- Upgrade Radiator
- Possibly add oil cooler
- AFPR
- Replace everything that needs it, clean/paint items that don't need to be replaced

- If the engine ends up ever needing a rebuild, I'll go with a simple stock(ish) 4G64 2.3L build, nothing for high horsepower, just something to spool an Evo III 16G like a stock T25.


My exhaust smoke, happens once the car is warmed up and sits idling for a few minutes, smells like oil:
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smoke from the exhaust is most likely bad Turbo ..

I'm hoping not, but I guess if it is, no big deal. I'm going to try replacing the valve stem seals first, it's cheap and I've already got the tools to do it. If it is, I guess I'll just have to rebuild this 14b or grab a small 16g or something.
 
Played around with wheel fitment today, still needs work. Also installed a steering wheel! Information added to the appropriate sections.
 
Installed seats today! Information (and complaining) added to Interior section.
 
Coilover install is finished. Ride height isn't set yet, but overall very happy, install went smoothly, just finding more and more dirty/nasty/neglected parts that I want to replace.
 
I like what you're doing, here! I have almost identical plans for my 95 GS-T, except stock ride height because the roads here are atrocious, LOL.
 
As usual with my builds, things got a little out of hand, haha! I always end up going above and beyond what my original plans were. Check body, suspension, and interior sections for updates!
 
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